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Posted

I am struggling to increase ARO. I have incentives in place for hours produced, let our techs help create the inspection check documents, hired someone to clean and organize the shop daily and assist techs as needed so the techs can be focused on work but cant seem to break out of the 230.00 range. Any suggestions?

  • Like 1
Posted

sounds like your techs may be managing you?

 

this is a hard issue in some cases and we had our share to. We had one guy that complained like no other that if he was going to look at something he should get diag time. Then i guess one day he wrote up something and the service writer sold it and now he is my best guy at looking for maintenance etc. He saw the hours it was producing him and he does good with it now.

 

My advice would be to write down what you would like to see.

Put it to paper in an easily understandable way.

Have weekly meetings explaining the importance of this to them, the customer and the shop. Notice i put "them" first?

Keep harping on it, dont be overbearing but be consistent.

 

If that fails to work then you will need to be more firm. It can even lead to replacing someone, as harsh as that may seem it sounds like the shop could be running down a road to a problem and you cant let your techs dictate how to steer it back. They can help but its you that is in charge.

The simply are NOT doing what you ask of them, you may have to make them.

Posted

You'll have to look at where the problem is originating from. Techs working too slow? Techs missing valuable needed recommendations? Techs not wanting to recommend more difficult work? Or is the service advisor not selling the recommended work? Maybe its just the nature of the jobs you are doing. If your aro of $230 nets $200 profit from diags and your ro count is high that's not too shabby.

Posted

Hi, Bob K!

 

The guys have given you pretty good answers in my view.

 

For my part, if you mean Average Revenue per Order as ARO, that metric for me does not hold very meaningful value. The reason being that on a weekly and monthly basis my ARO have gone from as low as $180 to $540, and on that peak ARO period I had the lowest profit marging. That left me scratching my head for a few days until I figured it out what happened.

 

As a metric, a low ARO to me signals that the guys may be running through oil changes just to get that service done and are not paying attention to the car's condition, but on the other hand I had months that the ARO was low just to jump up considerable the following months.

 

So like Imcca states, make sure you are running a plan that you have written down and can compare numbers from your metrics. Figure out the gross revenue you expect for the wholes shop, then break it down per bay and then work out the net marging you are looking for, that way from the big picture down to the details you can know what to demand down to the individual techs.

 

I have a shop where one tech runs two bays and is consistently the highest profit center I have, it seems to me that he runs his own business within my business (what I mean by this is that he is happy to be a mechanic and loves to leave the administrative and overhead to us, while all he takes care of fixing the cars and recommending to sell whatever the customer's car will need to stay reliable, he has been with me over 10 years and appears to be happy to keep working with me).

Posted

I am struggling to increase ARO. I have incentives in place for hours produced, let our techs help create the inspection check documents, hired someone to clean and organize the shop daily and assist techs as needed so the techs can be focused on work but cant seem to break out of the 230.00 range. Any suggestions?

Bob,

 

From my perspective, everything you've mentioned seems to be focused on tech efficiency.

Can you clarify how that's related to increasing your ARO? Maybe I'm missing something.

What are you trying to do? Are you trying to increase your gross profit? Your tech efficiency?

Or something else different?

Posted

Hi, Bob K!

 

The guys have given you pretty good answers in my view.

 

For my part, if you mean Average Revenue per Order as ARO, that metric for me does not hold very meaningful value. The reason being that on a weekly and monthly basis my ARO have gone from as low as $180 to $540, and on that peak ARO period I had the lowest profit marging. That left me scratching my head for a few days until I figured it out what happened.

 

As a metric, a low ARO to me signals that the guys may be running through oil changes just to get that service done and are not paying attention to the car's condition, but on the other hand I had months that the ARO was low just to jump up considerable the following months.

 

So like Imcca states, make sure you are running a plan that you have written down and can compare numbers from your metrics. Figure out the gross revenue you expect for the wholes shop, then break it down per bay and then work out the net marging you are looking for, that way from the big picture down to the details you can know what to demand down to the individual techs.

 

I have a shop where one tech runs two bays and is consistently the highest profit center I have, it seems to me that he runs his own business within my business (what I mean by this is that he is happy to be a mechanic and loves to leave the administrative and overhead to us, while all he takes care of fixing the cars and recommending to sell whatever the customer's car will need to stay reliable, he has been with me over 10 years and appears to be happy to keep working with me).

 

 

ARO should mean Average Repair Order. The gross sale for services rendered for a particular car or ticket or Repair Order.

 

If your ARO is low you have to look at a lot of different factors. There are so many but I will just highlight a few that make the most immediate impact for me.

 

1. Are you charging correctly for labor? Are you charging book time? Are you adding a multiple or do you have a labor matrix?

 

2. What are your Gross Profit Margins on parts? Are you getting enough for the parts you are selling?

 

3. Are your techs on flat or salary? Do they have incentives to perform a proper inspection so your service advisors have a quality list of repairs to up sell? are your service advisors qualified to sell and do you have a sales process?

 

 

If I was to generalize 3 big areas these are the ones I would say would have the biggest impact on your ARO. In a nut shell, charge properly, raise your prices to get better margins, have the right systems in place to sell the work.

Posted

Hi Bob,

 

This may just be a matter of providing better proof. Plainly put, a large portion of customers feel their auto repair facility purposely suggests more services than necessary in order to generate more revenue for the shop.

 

To fix this, you should be adding photos specific to the vehicle’s needs to each inspection. This provides undeniable proof that there is indeed a need for service, and has proven to increase ARO.

 

Click here for a better explanation: http://www.autoshopowner.com/blog/7/entry-176-digital-inspections-drive-shops-225-higher-ro/

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

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      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.
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